Graffiti Art in Austin

We took a Your Biker Gang ride all through Austin, hence the helmet. Wow, what FUN!  We were surprised to ride down the hill and stop here! I didn’t know that this graffiti wall was owned by Shepard Fairey - that’s his home in the background looking rather like a castle. It looks like we got here just in time - he sold the property and pretty soon it will be making way for condos. Sad but true. Graffiti artists, I hope you find a good place!

Our son, looking proud and happy.

We were seriously wishing for some paint cans.

Hard to believe it’s all going to be razed to the ground.

These were the bikes.  Wow, they were FUN!!! I highly recommend that if you go to Austin you do this! You will thank me later. We told them that if a couple bikes went missing, they’d know where to look.  

Art Stickers

So many stickers, so little time! Did you even know I have stickers? At two bucks a pop you can stick ‘em everywhere!  Mention my blog in comments on my website and I’ll send off a lovely, free gift if you buy five or more. Find them at 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

The first one is laying on my lovely desk...

I zoomed in on this one so you could get a good look-see. :)

And, this little group of friendly owls are next to my pen so you can get a feel for size.  Aren’t they awesome? 

Self Portrait, Part the Third

All right, this is the third post in my self-portrait reveal.  Last time I ended with James Herriot, so we begin with the next book:

Latin Roots you say? Stupor Mundi! Yes! I have long been fascinated with languages and done serious study before each of our European travels. Wherever we went, I always had learned enough to get directions, exchange money, read signs, get to the right airport gate and essentially live and thrive.  But Latin, oh how I love thee! For years I studied and taught our three oldest kids (those weird homeschoolers, you know) Latin. Our oldest says it was the best thing he learned in high school and it has ever so greatly enriched our lives.  As the base of our language it will never be dead - but even so, its boundaries are far beyond that.  Not to mention the fact that it made learning any other language easy! I also chose this book because it’s representative of our 26 years of homeschooling our four kids.

The next, William Morris. This book is full of his designs.  Pattern, color and texture.  He was a master. And color, pattern and texture are a never ending source of interest to me.

The Musee d-Orsay.  This great, peerless museum lies in the heart of Paris, across from le Louvre.  These two museums nod and smile at each other across the river in understanding, and I adore them both. This book also represents our travels and unquenchable curiousity.

Pucci begins where William Morris left off.  More color, texture and pattern.  Why two books that represent the same idea? I have no idea, but really to me it represents a continuation of the work as time passes into the modern age.

Enough! That’s all we can take for one post!  I’ll be back soon with .... Self Portrait, Part the Fourth.  See you then!

Blanton Museum of Art in Austin

I wasn’t expecting to find my good old friend Robert Indiana in Austin, but there he was. And since I grew up on trains, drove a train and then worked for the railroad, wasn’t it perfect that it would be this painting the Blanton Museum of Art had on display. Very nice, Robert!

I have long loved Robert Indiana.  He manages to take things right down to their very essence and distill out all the flim flam, like a great chef. His work is stark, colorful, very dramatic and imbued with meaning for those who take the time to look.  Absolutely love this particular piece.

Self Portrait, Part Two

All right, here we go again! It seems that my self-portrait is, well, wordy, and I guess now’s as good a time as any to admit to you that this as well is one of my traits!

To pick up where we left off... my previous post ended after six books, and I’m working my way from top to bottom. 

Next, Designa.  Oh, Designa! A reference of classic design through the centuries, I have gone back to you again and again for years! I have become so rich because of you that each time I see you displayed in a bookstore I give a happy, contented sigh. You’re the best part of that Wooden Book bunch.

Soup for Supper? Yay! A children’s book with delightful illustrations that I’ve read to all our kids. I tried to buy it as we always used library books, but it was out of print.  Our oldest son actually found it - eureka - and gave me this most delightful gift! Now I have been reading it to my art students and this year had them copy some of Phyllis Root’s incredible work. Personally raising up a new generation of Phyllis Root lovers.

Okay, leaning on the stack, just trying to get into the picture, is Color.  Oh how I have loved this book.  When I get my art students busy creating I will often read to them.  Even with my high schoolers, if I say the phrase, “It’s story time!” they will give up a little cheer. Who doesn’t want to know that the color yellow used to be made from the urine of cows fed mango leaves, a beautiful purple or mauve was resultant from the massacre of millions of snails, or that wars were fought over a red made of bugs’ blood? Even today some of your makeup and some of the things you drink contain bugs’ blood.  It’s nice to know you’ve chosen organic.  :) And oh, how dearly I love the groans and horror rising from my students when they learn these wonderful things. Just makes me so happy.

Continuing downward we come to Bouguereau. Bouguereau is one of my favorite artists. Highly favored in his lifetime, his work fell out of favor when he died, and he was actually ‘rediscovered’ fairly recently.  Love, love love his work, and many artists I highly admire have also been inspired by him.

The Rembrandt. Note that it’s in Dutch. I picked this one up when we were in The Netherlands.  It represents several things.  He’s one of my Top Ten artists and he’s also Dutch.  As am I.  Two famous Dutch artists, right? :) I also chose the Dutch version because I love to figure out other languages. Call it a hobby.

A Passion for Colour.  This is one of the newest in my stack, but I cherish it.  I LOVE color!  This woman and I, yep... we’d be good friends.

Picasso Black and White.  A number of years ago the MFA Houston had this exhibit.  I thought, “...ah, Picasso.  But just black and white? They’ll probably have some little pencil drawings and some black crayon and it’ll be boring.” Oh my goodness I was so wrong! I went in planning on spending an hour and going to an appointment I had later on.  I staggered out after four or five hours totally missing my appointment and incredibly inspired! Those black and white paintings have given me a lifetime of inspiration!

Under that, Roger Dean’s Views.  Oh, Roger, Roger, Roger! How I have loved you since I was 16 and bought my first Yes album!  Your work! Your crazy, colorful, otherworldly abstract but totally representative work! Your analogous and complimentary colors.  I have both drooled over and been inspired by your artwork for all these years.  And I am very sorry and angry you didn’t win that lawsuit with the Avatar movie people stealing your inspiration as their own. Seriously. Anybody with brains could see you all over that movie.

Okay, one last book and I will post this so you can take a reading break! We end with James Herriot’s Treasury for Children.  We wore two of these out with our kids and I give this book now as baby gifts.  Anyone that knows anything about James Herriot will understand.

All right, that’s it for now.  You will find me working through the stack in my next post which will be Self Portrait, Part the Third.  See ya!

Bookish Self Portrait

Well, I decided to do another self portrait, this one with books.  I walked around the house for a couple days and gathered the books that have been so important to me that they have come to represent me, and this gathering is actually a pretty telling portrait.  How shall we begin? How about top to bottom?

Nature in Winter. Ahh.... all the field guides we have used over the years, beginning when I was a child feeding and identifying birds, progressing to teaching our own children about everything under the sun.  The guides are pretty much all gone now, but this one is too beautiful and special.  I love it.

Wicked Plants. Noah gave me this one for Christmas and it is a plethora of creepy, delightful information about plants that KILL and TORTURE. I have an intimate relationship and deep working interest in plants and this one is just plain fun.  

Next to that is Dragon’s Fat Cat by Dav Pilkey. Oh, Dav, how I do love thee and your quirky, colorful Dragon books! I agree with your admiration of VanGogh and your continual nods to him in your children’s books! I have read them to my own children and to scores of students over the years.

The Heart of the Artist.  This is a sweet and inspiring book.  God has given us gifts, artist friends.  So must we use them.

Good Poems by my dear friend (although he doesn’t know it) Garrison Keillor.  For ... oh, how long was he on the air with Prairie Home Companion anyway? 30 years?  I can count my listening time back to 198...4?  His shows and work have given me great laugh-out-loud joy for many years.  He also had a program that was literally maybe three minutes long where he would read and discuss one poem.  Just found this book and I’m loving it.  But although it’s new, it represents a long history, and also represents my love of both reading and writing poetry.

One more book, and then I’ll post this, or my writing will be too long and put you to sleep!  The next - How Should We Then Live? This one is deep.  I’ve read it many times over the years and glean new gems with each re-reading. It has helped me to form and solidify my philosophy on how we should view, understand, produce and discuss art, and how to live our lives in relationship to art.  It’s a really beautiful, beautiful and timeless reference.

There is a marked difference in this last picture, in fact, I forgot something extremely important to my personhood. In fact, it was so important to me that I had to add it in and redo the photo shoot the next day.  Can you see what it is? See if you can figure it out before you look at my answer UNDER it at the bottom of this article. :)

Yep.  Musica.  That sheet of music at the bottom is not a book, but represents hundreds of music books I have laying around the house holding little impromptu jam sessions when no one is looking. I have long loved and played piano, flute and piccolo in every imaginable situation. Words cannot express how music has enriched my life.

They say that music itself is a language, and I am certain of that! So, I am extremely fluent in two languages, and pretty good and downright dangerous in several others. :)

Now, I’m going to post this and continue with my ramblings in the next post!  See you!